The End of Semester 1

The fall semester ended in stages - classes finished Dec 3, exams finished Dec 11, kids left Dec 12-13, and the final staff meeting was Dec 16. Instead of getting to take a breath of relief between the 12-16th, I was given the task of "Going Down Duty." Most of the students here are from quite far away, so Woodstock accompanies the majority of them to and from Delhi at the beginning and end of each semester in order for them to catch trains, planes, and automobiles. It is quite the organizational nightmare for the travel office here. Not only do they have to figure out when and where each student needs to go, they have everyone's traveling documents to take care of (visas, passports, residential permits, airline tickets, etc). Luckily, the travel office is outstanding and nothing ever seems to go wrong. My trip consisted of a 12 hour bus ride with 35 Nepali students from 5th-12th grade. We were 1 of 7 buses (there were also groups traveling by train). We reached the hotel in Delhi at about 10pm, where a hundred or so parents were waiting to take their kids home. After safely getting the Nepali kids and all their documents to the hotel, I was able to sleep a few hours before chaperoning a pair of girls to the airport at 3am. Then a few more hours of sleep before taking 30 Nepali kids to the airport at 7:30am. Basically, we get them to their check-in point and wave goodbye. After the Nepali kids were safely inside, I was free!!! A few of us took the morning/afternoon to do shopping at Khan Market where I got some things for our new house, 2.5 bottles of red wine (which is pretty scarce, and really expensive, in Mussoorie), and treated myself to a real American milkshake! In the evening, I went out again to Vasant Vihar and enjoyed some nice bookshops. Delhi in December is lovely - cool temps and relaxed atmosphere. Besides the lack of sleep, it was really nice to be there. We took the early morning train back to school the next day.

Once back, Laura and I had to frantically pack up our apartments and move to a nearby house. Neither of us will be dorm parenting next semester (hurrah!), so we have shifted to a duplex just a stone's throw from our old apartments. The house is the lowest house on campus, which means my commute to school every morning will be steep. The other side is occupied by a wonderful family from Minneapolis with 3 young kids. It is fun to hear and see kids playing outside in the afternoons. They are very creative and are always inventing something. Laura and I spent the rest of the week organizing, painting, and decorating the house. At last, if finally feels functional and homey.

Most of the staff left on Wednesday, but there are quite a few quality people still here. Many of us are staying for Christmas and then leaving for a month of travels. (A highlight about living at Woodstock is the 6 week Winter Break!). We've been invited to lots of get-togethers and potlucks. One of the most entertaining was the White Elephant exchange, I walked away with a used make-up kit and Laura got 5 pairs of men's underwear. For Christmas, we will stay busy. Laura and I are inviting friends over for a Christmas eve dinner, then we'll go to a nice restaurant for dessert, and then to a local church for midnight mass. Christmas day we're planning to have a lazy morning with Kate, then maybe walk around the chukkar before going to a Christmas potluck with other staff. After Christmas, we'll have two days to eat leftovers and pack before heading off on our travels.

Our travels will stay within India, but will offer quite the range of sights and experiences: mountains and Tibetan monasteries in Dharamsala, the Golden Temple and Punjabi food in Amritsar, layovers and shopping in Delhi, Rajasthani forts and camel rides in Jaipur, live music and city-life in Mumbai, beaches in Goa, and backwater canoeing and spice plantations in Kerala. In total it's four weeks, with one entire week on the beach in Goa. We're traveling primarily by train, which is ridiculously cheap. The longest train journey will be two nights, three days from Kerala to Delhi (I will be bringing books!). The group of travelers is always changing - for parts of the journey it will be 3-4 of us, at other times 7. It will be fun to spend time with people outside of school.

So, that's Winter Break in a nutshell. Overall, it's lovely to be on vacation.

Here are some photos of the new house:
The house!

Our living room, with Christmas decorations.

A highlight of the house: the bukari! (A woodburning stove.)

Looking into the dining room (the stars were my Christmas project).

Our spacious kitchen, another highlight.

We have two bedrooms and two sunrooms. This is the less sunny of the sunrooms.

Three Thanksgivings

Thanksgiving #1: We kicked off Thanksgiving with an early dorm staff celebration, which is quite an international crew. We managed to make most of the traditional food (except that Turkey is almost non-existent in India) among the Americans in the group while our Japanese, Indian, and Korean colleagues brought great additions like cheez bits, seaweed balls, indian cheetos, momos, etc!


Thanksgiving #2: The day of Thanksgiving, we had the annual dorm staff lunch at a fancy hotel in Mussoorie. We got to sit outside in the sunshine and then were served a fancy meal that was half Thanksgiving, half Indian and totally delicious.


Thanksgiving #3: Since we didn't get any time off for the holiday, we held our most traditional celebration with American friends (and a few international friends) the following Sunday. We had so much food and lots of merriment. We even had a kids room where we made pilgrim hats, colored, and had pillow fights. It was wonderful.

Evening Stroll

Amidst the craziness that comes with the last week of school, Laura and I managed to take an evening stroll with two of our high school residents up to the top of the hill. We left around 5pm, just as it was getting dark. The entire walk up consisted of beautiful sunset views over Mussoorie. Sunsets are particularly beautiful here at this time of year due to the "Winterline." The Winterline is a natural phenomena that is visible only from a few places in the world...the Himalayas and Switzerland are the only ones I'm aware of. In essence, it is a fake horizon set a bit higher than the actual horizon. Most sources say it's due to the pollution difference between the plains (Delhi) and the hills. The odd thing about it is that it appears only from mid-October to mid-December.

Mussoorie at dusk.

Woodstock campus at dusk with the Winterline emerging.

Looking to the east.

The Winterline producing brilliant colors over Dehradun.

Sunset through the trees.

Lights of Mussoorie with the Winterline.

The Himalayas basking in the last colors of the sunset.

Activity Week 2009: Kuari Pass

This year for Activity Week, I tagged along on a week-long Himalayan trek with 11th and 12th graders through the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand State (the state that Mussoorie is in). There were 15 of us in total (11 students, 4 adults) and we represented a variety of countries and cultures: India, Nepal, France, South Korea, US, Tibet, Saudia Arabia, and Japan. Our route was Kuari Pass, a route that follows an ancient trade route between Tibet and the Indian planes. No one on the trip had done the route before, so it came as a surprise when the it was not just a single ascent to the pass but rather many ascents and descents as we crossed two major river valleys. I've tried to include the approximate altitudes for each campsite.

Day 1: Drive from Mussoorie to Chefna
We left Woodstock at around 6:30am for the 12 hour drive to Chefna (via Chamba, Tehri, Srinagar, Rudraprayag, Karnaprayag, and Nandaprayag). Highlights included seeing the Tehri Dam, which has changed a river valley into an enormous lake. It is beautiful, but quite controversial. We ate at dhabas (greasy but delicious road-side restaurants) and arrived at our campsite on the Nandakini River after dark. With no celebration of Halloween, I was feeling un-american and decided to carve an orange. Little did I know that my citrus jack-o-lantern would provide over an hour of entertainment for the group!

Day 2: Chefna (3000ft) to Ghuni (7000ft) 8km
Woke up to warm weather and promises of an easy "practice" day of hiking. Well, not so much. The trail, much to our dismay, continued uphill all day from the Nandakini river valley. Every time we thought we sighted the top, our guide would say "there is no top today." We passed through a few villages with local kids asking to take their photos. Just before dark we reached our campsite above Ghuni village.

Our long and hot ascent to Ghuni Village.

Village kids near Ghuni.

Looking over the valley we just climbed.

Villagers near Ghuni.

Tentmates!

Day 3: Ghuni (7000ft) to Jhinj (7000ft)i via Chechni Binayak (10000ft) 11km
As if we hadn't had enough the day before, we continued to climb uphill all morning through a large village and to (finally!!!) the top of the hill. The pass, Chechni Binayak (10,000ft), was beautiful with views of Nanda Ghunti (20,819ft). After lunch, a steep descent through a dark forest to Jhinji. Hail, rain, maple leaves (!!!!!), rocky paths, and crisp air reminded me of autumn in northern MN. With the hail storm, we fell behind schedule and hiked the last hour to our campsite at Jhinji in the dark.

The ascent to Chechni Banayak Pass.

Taking a break at Chechni Banayak Pass.

Hail storm and maple leaves!

Nanda Ghunti amidst storm clouds.

Day 4: Jhinji (7000ft) to Pana (8800ft) 8km via Birahi Ganga Bridge (6000ft)
The morning started with a sharp descent to Birahi Ganga Valley. We crossed the Birahi Ganga River via a bridge that was hanging hundreds of feet above the river. After the bridge, we started the long ascent to our campsite above Pana Village. Gorgeous views of Trisul (23,395ft) and Nanda Ghunti (20,819).

Bridge at Birahi Ganga River.

A rare flat path with maples and birches!

Apparently cows use the same water source we do at Pana village.

The view from Pana Village campsite.

Kids from Pana Village investigating our camping techniques.

Day 5: Pana (8800ft) to Dhakwani (13000ft) via Doma Bhiti Waterfall 16km
A steep uphill climb to start the morning. The pass at the top was about level with Chechni Binayak Pass from two days previously. After the climb, we descended to Sartoli and then steeply down to a gorgeous waterfall (Doma Bhiti?) with a washed out bridge. Then another long ascent to Dhakwani, just below Kuari Pass!

The cobblestone trail with Kuari Pass in the background.

Enjoying the waterfall.

The last hikers climb up to Dhakwani campsite. Our trek started from the opposite side of one of the far hills!

Day 6: Dhakwani (13000ft) to Talli (Chitrakanta) (12000ft) via Kuari Pass (14000ft) 12km
A tough hour climb to reach Kuari Pass. Despite the cold temps and thin air, we spent lots of time to take photos of the panorama of Himalayan peaks. Then a gradual incline (with more fantastic views) before starting to descend back down to the treeline. A final ascent out of the forest to our campsite above the treeline, from which Nanda Devi (25,643ft) could be seen clearly, as well as Trisul (23,359ft), Dunagiri (23,182ft), Changabang (22,520ft), and many others. Our guides (but not us) sighted two black bears eating a cow carcass about 100m downhill from our camp.

The whole group at the Pass.

Enjoying the gentle descent towards the treeline.

Nanda Devi!!!!

Day 7: Talli (12000ft) to Auli (10000ft) via Gorson 8km
Another steep climb to start the morning in order to pass over Chitrakanta. Then a meandering descent to Auli with beautiful views. We met our jeeps by Cliff Top Hotel just above Auli and drove to a "bungalow" run by HImalayan Shepherds in Auli to stay for the night.

Our Talli campsite with the panorama of peaks in the background.

The last tough climb of the trip.

A mule and its guide pushing to the top of the final ascent.

The beautiful descent to Auli.

Day 8: Drive from Auli to Mussoorie
Early departure from Auli to tackle the 14 hour drive back to Woodstock. Delays included a cross-country race for soldiers in Auli and the largest herd of sheep I've ever seen!

October Weather

I think there is no better season than October in the Garhwal Himalayas. I wake up to the sun beating through my curtains unto my bed. The morning air is crisp and cool, but always cheerful with the welcoming sun. The afternoons are always the same: blue skies and warm temperatures. As the sun sets, the cold mountain air settles in and the stars shine brilliantly. No rain, no clouds, and hardly any wind. I've been taking in the wonderful season with daylight hours outside and twilight hours reading books by local writers, Bill Aitken and Ruskin Bond. I've found that I'm not the only one who enjoys this season:

October is the best trekking season when the golden days yield the full fragrance of harvested sap. The sky is a celestial blue and the air perfectly attuned to vigorous marches. Sun-dappled trees and the roar of rushing water coursing off the mountainside stimulate the taste of salt on one's lips while the sifting wind soothes any regret at the sweat. It is good to be alive in high Garhwal in October as the crickets fill the clear air with a deafening drone of plenitude. The intensity of the sky with a few puffed clouds abroad by early afternoon contrasts with the map-like spread of the fields below. Crops of ripening red buckwheat shock the eye as do the yellow stalks of scarlet coxcomb. The multihued greens of the jungle begin to enclose one's progress and range from the deep chrome of oak and dark viridian of spruce to the fresh gloss of chestnut and maple. (Bill Aitken, The Nanda Devi Affair)

This quote gets me particularly excited as I prepare for an 8-day Himalayan trek. I leave tomorrow morning with 11 high school students (11th and 12th Grade) and 3 chaperones. The trek is part of Activity Week, an annual event at Woodstock where students and staff take off on a variety of week-long field trips. Last year, I spent the week in a local village. Our trek is called Kuari Pass, or Curzon's Trail. I'll post more about it after the trip. For now, here are some of the outdoor adventures that have kept me busy in October:

Fairy Glen Activity Week Overnight: Practicing our packing skills with one of the Activity Week groups.

Witch's Hill Day Hike: Passing through Dhobi Ghat, the neighborhood where all the laundry men live and work.

Witch's Hill Day Hike: View of the hills to the east of Woodstock.

Fairy Glen Overnight #2: The perfect way to spend a day off!

Fairy Glen Overnight #2: We woke up to gorgeous views of the snow-capped mountains.

Fairy Glen Overnight #2: Keeping up the WCB tradition of leaving a cedar sprig at the campfire!

Flag Hill Day Hike: WCB friend Katie came to visit for 4 days!

Flag Hill Day Hike: Tibetan prayer flags waving with hills in the background.

Flag Hill Day Hike: View of the hills to the east of Woodstock.